A Whole New World
by ANewStart18
Summary: The planned part of this fic is going to be about an AU Hogwarts. It *will* be Femslash, but I'm undecided on the main pairing right now (Fleurmione will be a sideline). Warning: This will be slow to get going, but hopefully lovely by the end ;) This is also my first fic, but it so needed to be written so here it is! Rating will change throughout! (also, Sarah's mine! no stealing!)
1. Chapter 1

"but Mum... What if we don't fit in? All the other kids have known about magic for ages and..." I trailed off. It was going to be our first day at our new school and the Professor 'Gonnagel, or whatever her name was, had visited us at the start of the summer. At first we were excited but then we began to wonder; what would it be like? This new magical school that would explain all the weird things that happened to us was a complete mystery. Neither of us liked mystery, not really. My twin sister and I much preferred to be able to read the answers to our questions in a book. At least the 'Gonnagel woman had seemed nice – We had always thought witches were mean and evil. My sister and I made a pact the day she came. She seemed so nice, and brought so much light to the puzzles we had pondered over all our lives. We would always try to be like her, try to be the light.

The summer had flown by in a haze of ice-creams and cartwheels, daisy chains and spy-novels. It was nearing the last couple of weeks before school ought to begin again and Mione and I were enjoying the heat of the sun.

"Come out, come out, verever you areeee" I sang gleefully. I was pretty sure I knew where my sister was hiding, and I pumped the water pistol in my hands to build up the pressure. We had been quietly reading the latest Alex Rider novel to each other when mum suggested (basically ordered) that we actually go outside for once, and we decided to play pretend. "Come out Meester Rider... I vill find you and feed you to ze sharks!" I was aiming for a Russian accent, because all the worst baddies are Russian, but it kept slipping. I paused. I heard it. A giggle. I clipped the water gun to its strap on my back, and jumped onto the monkey bars, swinging my way along, and stealthily sliding onto the climbing frame. The decidedly girly sound had come from our tree house. I took my aim, although I couldn't quite see, and fired blindly with reckless abandon.

"AAAAAHHHH SARAH!" I jumped from my perch and sprinted the length of the exposed lawn, diving behind my base camp bush. "Sarah! You made me wet! Get out here now!" I heard the stomping of her feet as she climbed down the rungs of the ladder. I hesitated, wondering if she'd seen my hiding place already. "Sarah Eleanor Granger, you get out here right now or I'll tell Mum you didn't play fair!" I knew what that voice meant, and I knew if I wanted ice-cream for dessert I had to stop Hermione doing anything stupid.

"Allright! Allright, I'm coming out" I raised my hands above my head and slowly stood up. There she was, my evil twin sister, looking so smug. I saw it coming as she raised the pistol in her hands "Betrayal, sister mine? Is this what we have fallen to? We both read Dante last year; you know that the last circle of hell is reserved for traitors. You would sink to that level?"

"For you, sister dear, always!" And with a blinding impish smile, she pulled the trigger. I felt the cold stripe run from my waist, across my front to my shoulder. I let my body fall backwards and crumple, not reacting to the sickening thud when I hit the grass. I tried my hardest to lie deathly still in the long silence that followed. "Sarah? ... Sarah? I couldn't have accidentally magiked it into acid or something?!" Mione quickly slid into hysteria, and I rolled on the ground chuckling. "OH YOU!" Hermione proceeded to drench me in retaliation for my (perhaps) cruel joke, until we were both laughing our socks off.

"Girls! Snacks?" Mum's voice brought us out of our little moment of hilarity, and we sprinted into the house only to be ushered right back out again. "You're both absolutely soaking! Sit here and dry in the sun while I get you some choc-ices" After a chorus of gratitude, we sat and chatted about the recurring topic on our minds – the new school.

"Sarah..." Mione sounded more than a little hesitant "You don't think... After what happened today, I mean... D'you think magic could be used to do bad stuff?" Her two top teeth bit harshly into her lower lip and I felt my brow furrow.

"I guess so..." I answered slowly "But... if we control it like the 'Gonnagel woman said, then... It'll be our choice what to do with it. So we can use it to help people. And make sure we never use it badly." I stared off into space, thinking. There had been a time last year where my sister had been picked on by my friends. It had all been so snide and silly that we'd ignored it. Right up until some stupid little boy had said something to me about her teeth, asking why I hung out with a rabbit like her. I'd never been so angry; he was lucky he only got a chipped tooth and a nosebleed. Suffice to say they kept away from both of us then. But now, what Mione said had me worried. What if there were proper witches and wizards there who tried to hurt my sister? How could I protect her then? I promised myself that as soon as I could, I'd go to a magic library and learn the nastiest meanest spell ever, so I could protect her.

Just as I finished my promise, I heard my mother come back outside. "Oh my goodness!" I swung my head around just in time to see two huge owls land on the patio, one tawny and one snow white. The weirdest thing was that they had two green inked letters in their beaks!


	2. Chapter 2

Italics are dreams... I think I'm going to need to make this a cross over story, as I've decided the main pairing and yeah... We'll see if you can guess ;)

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I grinned at Mione and scrambled to my feet. The huge tawny owl flapped up, off the ground and landed heavily on my shoulder, his wing cuffed me lightly on the back of the head and I giggled. I reached up and took the letter from his beak, and he ruffled his feathers importantly. "Is it okay if I stoke you boy?" I cooed softly, and the beautiful bird hooted a quiet reply. I trailed my fingertips lightly through the down on his chest, and Mione walked over and copied me. It seemed the snowy owl didn't much like her; it was sitting on the fence with its back to us! We spent a few minutes feeding the owl tiny pieces of biscuit and gently stroking its feathers, until a loud POP made us all jump. The two birds flew off together over the roof of the house and the professor 'Gonnagel appeared right next to our water pistols.

"Good Afternoon, Mrs Granger. Is your husband home?" Professor 'Gonnagel looked the same as last time; right down to the deep green dressy thing (robes, she called them) and her big pointy hat. I stared a little, but it was Mione's mouth that fell open. The Professor cracked a tiny smile at us and looked back at our rather flustered mother.

"Yes, yes of course. He's in the living room I think. Please, come on in" Our mother replied rather hastily, brushing invisible dust off her hands on her apron. "It's lovely to see you again, Professor McGonagall" Ahh, so that was her name!

"You girls had best bring those letters through too, mm?" The Professor commented as she passed us. We trooped into the house after her, Mione grabbing her letter from the patio table. Once we were all in the living room, Hermione and me sitting on the rug by the fireplace, she proceeded to explain about a magical place in London called Dragon Alley, and how we needed books (finally!) and wands and cauldrons and so much cool stuff! It was probably the most exciting moment, ever.

Hermione and I were totally hyper all day, and even mum and dad couldn't stay confused for too long. Together we were infectious, and mum always loved shopping so the idea that the next day we would go to Dragon Alley with Professor McGonagall was something even she looked forward to. It took absolutely ages to get us to bed that night. And even after the lights had gone out and we were meant to be in our rooms, Mione crept back into mine and snuggled into my bed. We talked and talked, far too keyed up to rest. Until I heard a soft "Sarah..."

"Mmm hmm" I murmured, too close to sleep to form a proper response.

"Do I have to go back to my bed now?" She whispered, her voice almost as tired as mine. I couldn't be bothered with actually voicing a reply so just shook my head and let my arm rest over my sister.

_I could hear waves lapping against sand, their ancient rhythm calling my soul closer. The sunlight flickered through the trees as I followed a winding path down towards a beach. My hands stretched out to feel the green ferns rushing through my fingers. I saw the shore ahead and jogged the last short distance but just as I reached the end of the forest, a girl stepped in front of my path and before I could stop myself I had run into her._

_"Oof!" She was so so small, I noticed again as I helped her up. She must have been older than me, by a few years, but she was still only just about my height. Her dark black hair was all mussed up but held carefully in disarray with gel. Her deep brown eyes sucked me in, until I could see the slight specks of lighter butterscotch in them. Pale but full lips parted to reprimand me for my carelessness but I slid my finger over them, not wanting to break the spell. I gathered her slight frame into my arms and just hugged the tiny pixie of a girl. I felt so protective of her, and I felt something... Something strange, un-nameable to me then. So, like I had every night for as long as I could remember, I just held the girl who visited me in my dreams, savouring those funny feelings until I..._

Awoke. It was still pitch blackness. Two fifteen, the clock read. I sighed heavily, and slipped out of the bed, careful not to jostle my sister. I pulled out my notebook, and the manuscript paper I kept with it and opened them up to my latest song. I started strumming the air, leaving my guitar in its bag so as not to wake the sleeping hurricane in my bed. My mind filled with the chords and lyrics I had so far, until all I was focussed on was those soft melodies.

"Did you see her again?" My sister's voice carried across the room and I jumped.

"Go back to sleep!" I whispered, really not wanting to be accountable for the force of nature that Hermione was when she didn't sleep enough.

"You did, didn't you? I knew you were lying when you said you'd stopped seeing her at night!" I sighed, exasperated with my know-it-all sister. "Fine, you don't want to talk about her; that's fine. I'm just saying you didn't have to lie..." I hummed in thought, desperately non-committal. "... Sarah... Sing for me?" I slid the guitar out of its case, knowing she'd be asleep within minutes of me practising.

"... Instead of counting sheep, I count the stars within your eyes,

I wish that I could sleep but,Those stars are way too bright,

Its all about you, with or without you, ..."

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The song at the end is Awake All Night - Cody Simpson

ie: NOT MINE! I don't own it, it's his... but it's a good song.. listen to it ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Not even an hour later we sat on the porch step, looking out over the front garden and waiting for the mysterious Professor to arrive. I double checked the contents of my knapsack, making sure I had all my allowance and snacks and stuff.

"How much longer do you think she'll be?" Hermione sighed at me, sounding almost exasperated exactly at the moment a small tabby cat, which had been curled up on our neighbour's lawn, sauntered under the small hedge and straight up to our front door. The cat looked over its shoulder at us, scrambling to get up with our mouths hanging open, and huffed almost haughtily.

I blinked for one second, I swear it was only that long, and when my eyes were open again, the Professor McGonagall was there instead of a cat. I jumped almost out of my skin, and my foot slipped off the step making me yelp like a kicked puppy. And that was when the really weirdest thing happened, and the cool calm stern professor cracked a tiny smile. She turned on her heel with a collected "Is your mother inside?"

I turned and shared a shell shocked look with my sister, before we both grabbed our stuff and sprinted inside after the witch. If we had ever doubted the existence of magic, lord knew that we wouldn't again, especially as we walked into our living room to see a huge roaring fireplace, exactly where our small gas one had been.

"Now, we are going to be travelling via the Floo network. This is something that the girls will become increasingly familiar with, but as it is new to all of you I shall explain a little of how it works." The professor began in a no-nonsense tone "The ministry of Magic, which is a lot like the muggle government, have set up a connection between the fireplaces in all of wizarding Britain. I applied to have your house put on the network some weeks ago, as travelling from here to London would take almost two hours by any muggle means. Basically, you will take some of this powder from my pouch, step into the flames, and throw the powder on the floor while stating your destination clearly. I will travel first with you, Mrs Granger, and then the girls can follow us together afterwards."

And at that, she took our mothers elbow and guided her into the fireplace. Mum looked like she was about to be sick, but valiantly didn't flinch and even managed a smile. At that, Professor McGonagall took some silvery powder out of a pouch, and gave the remainder to Hermione. "Diagon Alley" was the last thing we heard as the flames turned green and rushed upwards covering the two women from sight. I gasped and involuntarily took a step forward as though to help them, but even before my footfall landed, they were gone.

I took a shuddering breath and looked over at my sister. She was white as a sheet and trembling slightly. "Well, I feel she could've prepared us better for that!" I cracked a tiny smile and tried to jerk my sister out of her fear. "okay..." I grabbed her hand and dragged her into the fireplace, "think like Tris from the Divergent books, okay? We'll be fine. Probably." I heard the soft strangled squeak from my sister as our feet hit the coals. I took the pouch from her clenched fist and clenched a huge handful of the silvery powder. I felt my heartbeat thud against my ribcage and wondered idly if all magic is this scary. Before I realised what was happening the fine powder had almost slipped halfway through my fingers and I threw the rest down, shouting as clear as I could "D-diagon alley". The green flames leapt up and our clasped hands tightened, keeping us together as we were swept off our feet. Colours and fireplaces swirled past us, and I began to panic about how we were ever going to know which one we ought to get off on. Just as I began to think about trying to talk to my sister, an invisible force pushed us out of one such fireplace.

I gasped the cooler air, and almost hugged the solid ground. Mum rushed over to us and helped Hermione up, as I hoisted myself vertical again. There was a queue of people looking to use the fireplace we had just stumbled out of and I made my way over to Professor McGonagall to get out of the way. She gave that small restrained smile at me, and then turned away. I followed her gaze and gasped, the bustle of wizards and owls and wands and floating things, cauldrons and children making me grin as a new feeling bloomed in my chest.

I had come home.


	4. Chapter 4

"Sarah, Sarah, wake up!" Hermione whined in my ear, as annoying as ever. "You're so tired all the time! It's because of that girl waking you up every night, isn't it?" My sister was jostling my shoulder, and as I took in our surroundings I found that we had made it to the train station, finally ending the hours long drive.

"No, it's because we had to get up so darn early to get here." I mumbled half heartedly as we piled out of the car, grabbing my rucksack filled with all my books from the back seat. My comment was met with a derisive snort and I glared at Mione to stop her blabbing any more about it in front of our parents. Dad started pulling our trunks out of the boot, while I extricated my guitar and our new owl from the middle where they had been wedged to survive the long journey.

"Hermione, come and help me get trolleys for your sister and yourself, hmm?" Mums tone brooked no argument and it was clear that we were all rather tired and crabby. At least I was spared the harassment of my sister when she has something on her mind.

All too soon we were descending the travelator onto platforms nine and ten, and the desperate confusion was probably written on all our faces. However clear Professor McGonagall's instructions were, the idea of meeting her on a fraction of a platform was absurd. Were we supposed to measure the length of platform nine and wait three quarters of that length along it? We had stayed up late the night before, with hot chocolate and card games, all guessing with wild theories as to how we were going to manage it. Happily as my foot hit the stones of the walkway, the familiar green robes billowed out from behind a pillar, and a collective sigh of relief could be heard.

"Ah, you made it. Very good to see you Mr and Mrs Granger. The Headmaster asked me to make sure that you got onto the platform safely, but I'm afraid I'll need to leave for Hogwarts again now that we've made sure you're here." The professor's clear voice was almost a reassurance, until her words registered in my mind.

"You mean there are no other muggle-born pupils in our year?" I asked incredulously.

"I see you've been doing some reading up. Yes, there are only two of you this year, but the book you were reading may not have mentioned that muggle-born witches and wizards are rather rare. I suppose it's a rather well known fact." Her shiny black shoes clicked on the flagstones and the book in question started plaguing my mind again. I'd re-read it almost a hundred times over the holiday, as it spoke about the wizarding world in what seemed to be a very objective way. And just as I was concerned about the whole wizarding community, my sister had obsessed over our new school. I got the feeling we were both afraid of the same thing; would being a rarity make us outsiders?

Finally the professor stopped in front of one of the stone pillars between the two platforms. "This is the gateway that leads to platform nine-and-three-quarters. You must walk straight into the wall and not hesitate, so bear in mind that it is really only an illusion and will pass you onto the platform where the train is waiting. If you put your things in the very first compartment the head girl and boy will sit with you for the journey. Quickly now, the train will be leaving soon." Her stilted half smile was all the encouragement we were going to get, but our parents patted our shoulders as they went first. Holding hands and pushing Hermione's trolley together, they walked calmly forwards and I admired their cool headedness when surrounded by all the weirdness that is magic. One second they were with us, in front of the wall, and then they were gone.

"Well then..." I mumbled. "Shall we go?" I asked my sister, and unlike the last time we faced magical transportation, she managed an almost convincing smile, and took my hand. We both grabbed the bar of the trolley and pushed it forwards, remembering the professors warning I stopped myself from looking back at her, and made sure that we didn't hesitate. My eyes closed in a reflex but I kept walking until I heard our parents calling us. My eyes fluttered open and I gasped, reminded of that first glimpse at Diagon Alley. The hustle of mothers and pointy black hats and broomsticks and animals was overwhelmingly comforting to me, and I grinned as our parents joined in the atmosphere, fussing around us to make sure we weren't late.

They made sure we put all our stuff onto the train; backpacks in the first carriage and our trunks tucked away in the luggage compartment. We descended onto the platform again and I couldn't help voicing my concerns as our mother hugged us both goodbye "but Mum... What if we don't fit in? All the other kids have known about magic for ages and..."

"And nothing. You two think we didn't notice how late your lights went out every night this past week?! You're probably more prepared than half the kids here and you're wonderful, honest, and hard-working little girls. You belong there, doing magic. Your father and I have both seen it, and we know you're going to do well. Now, the professor sad you can use your new owl to write to us whenever you want, although you do need to name him! And you'll see us at Christmas, which isn't that long away now." We were swept up in another deep hug, and I sniffled hard to keep the tears from falling. "Go on now, you don't want to miss the train" As if on cue the red monstrosity hooted and we all smiled a little.

Our noses pressed against the cool glass and my hand ached from waving so hard. The station disappeared from sight and I found myself suddenly sitting with arms full of my sobbing sister. I let the sadness fill me too for a moment, but I'd always been less disposed to waterworks.

"Hermione" I sighed. "C'mon sis. The head boy and girl will probably be here in a minute, and we don't want them to see us like this, right?" I felt the bushy hair shift up and down on my neck. "I have a tissue and some Cadburys in my bag...?" I said in a sing-song voice, and my sister was instantly almost bouncing in her seat on the other side of the carriage. I grinned and stood to lift my bag down from the overhead storage, noticing the two new bags in the racks with ours. One of them was a dark green, and the other, a light pink with yellow ribbons tied to it. I shrugged, assuming they were the head of schools bags, and dug around in my own for the chocolate I had hidden in there.

"Aha!" I held my prize aloft, as I spun around to face my, now dry, sister. I was just in time to watch the door to our compartment slide open allowing two people to enter, both of whom were staring at me very confusedly.

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Dear my 3 favouriters and reviewer,

You guys made my day last time I updated. Seriously. It was such a happy moment. I love you four the best... Other than my girlfriend but hey ho... She's special...

xoxo


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